So the way I understand it is this: The Disease Concept — whose 2012 debut, Liquor Bottles and Broken Steel (review here), still delights on those occasions when decency just won’t do — are putting out their second album, Your Destroyer, on CD through Goatskull Records. It’s available now to preorder, and Totem Cat released it on vinyl last year. Meanwhile, Totem Cat has picked up Liquor Bottles and Broken Steel for vinyl and The Disease Concept‘s third full-length, Pain Clinic, has already been put to tape in the band’s usual show-up-with-nothing-get-fucked-up-and-make-an-album method and there are plans in the works already for a follow-up to that. This is what happens when you have a band of people who enjoy hanging out and making records.

In case you’ve never had a chance to sample The Disease Concept‘s gleefully filthy wares, I’ve included the track “Living at Home and Hiding from the Government” from Your Destroyerbelow. The Disease Concept is vocalist Jesse Kling (Morbid Wizard, Sollubi), guitarists Dave Szulkin (Blood Farmers) and Tommy Southard (Solace), bassist Rob Hultz (Solace, Trouble, The Swill), and drummer Corey Bing (Fistula, Morbid Wizard, etc.), and they proffer scumbag sludge with every bit of nastiness one might expect from their pedigree.

They had this to say about the upcoming on their Thee Facebooks:

The Disease Concept – Your Destroyer cd pre-order

Disease Concept’s Liquor Bottles and Broken Steel will be released on Totem Cat this summer on vinyl..Your Destroyer is coming out on cd on Goat Skull (pre orders are up)..then the 3rd album Pain Clinic will be mixed and then released on a label tba..also could be released on Totem Cat too on 12″ wax…..after some of these things surface…Disease Concept will be entering the studio to record album number 4….more soon…

we will get our albums available on bandcamp when the releases have been out for a while..its a slow process for us…we are scattered..but soon

This week, even as they made ready to head to Desertfest, sludge mavens Weedeater unleashed a new Scion-sponsored single called “Hot Doughnuts Now,” and needless to say, but it features both their signature lurching tones and unmitigated charm. To wit, it’s about doughnuts. And “doughnuts” is spelled right. Not that there was ever any doubt, but Weedeater remain on the ball.

In addition to the new song, which is the first Weedeater studio track to surface since their signing to Season of Mist for the release of their next album, the band have announced a tour in Australia and New Zealand alongside Corrosion of Conformity, the two bands serving as ambassadors together of some of the best in heavy that the American South has to offer.

The PR wire digs it:

WEEDEATER announce new tour dates in Australia, New Zealand

Infamous sludge outfit WEEDEATER (“Dixie” Dave Collins – Bass, Vocals; Dave Sheperd – Guitar, Vocals) has announced a new tour in New Zealand and Australia. The tour, which begins on July 18 in Sydney, will travel through Melbourne, Perth, and more before ending on July 28, and will see WEEDEATER play alongside CORROSION OF CONFORMITY. A full list of confirmed dates can be found below.

WEEDEATER released a new track as part of the “SCION AV Presents…” series. The track, titled “Hot Doughnuts Now” can be streamed and downloaded here. The North Carolina-based band is currently writing new material for their first Season of Mist recording, slated for release in 2014.

WEEDEATER was formed by front-man/bassist “Dixie” Dave Collins. Following the release of their 2001 debut ‘…And Justice For Y’All’, WEEDEATER immediately established themselves as a force in the U.S. tour circuit and quickly gained notoriety in the American metal scene. In the time since, the band have released three critically-acclaimed albums: ‘Sixteen Tons’ (2002), ‘God Luck And Good Speed’ (2007), and ‘Jason… The Dragon’ (2011), and toured around the world with the likes of DOWN, SAINT VITUS, HIGH ON FIRE, and THE MELVINS, HANK III, EARTH, SUNN O))) and more. The band has played prestigious festivals such as Maryland Deathfest, Hopscotch Festival, Stoned From The Underground, Asymmetry Festival, Roadburn Festival, Hellfest, and many more.

For more WEEDEATER news and tour information, please visit the Season of Mist website, and the WEEDEATER website and Facebook page.

So you take the reignited Graves at Sea, and you put them in the studio with Billy Anderson. Right? Fucking brilliant. Then you take Sourvein, now past the 20-year mark, and you put them in the studio with C.O.C.‘s Mike Dean. Also, fucking brilliant. Then you take the results of these sessions, slap some badass war-wolf art on it, press it to CD and LP, and presumably take the rest of the day off, because I don’t care what else you come up with, you’re just not gonna top that idea.

And I’m not saying I’ve heard any of this material yet or anything, but you’re in for a surprise if you think you know what to expect from Sourvein.

The two bands start a European tour April 10 at Roadburn, and Seventh Rule has the split out on CD and LP on May 13.

Check out the PR wire, telling it like it is:

GRAVES AT SEA And SOURVEIN Unite For A Release Of Ultimate Amplifier Worship; Preorders Available This Friday

Two of doom metal’s mightiest of feedback-laden riff worshippers – Portland’s GRAVES AT SEA and Cape Fear’s SOURVEIN – have united in sound, mind and spirit for the ultimate split of earth-smoldering amplifier worship.

GRAVES AT SEA, whose contributions leave an eerie aura complete with tortured vocals, foreboding composition, and a general sense of dread, occupy Side A. Recorded by Billy Anderson, (Melvins, Sleep, Neurosis) “Betting On Black” and “Confession” finds the all-consuming sludge for which the band is notorious, flooding in amongst the tortured howls and shrieks of vocalist Nathan Misterek.

SOURVEIN, who’ve now existed for two decades of distortion, damage and total doom, solidify Side B. With three songs produced and recorded by Mike Dean Of Corrosion of Conformity, these odes of heavy combine toxic riffs, grooves and just the right amount of psychedelic appeal.

Both sides were mastered by Brad Boatright (Sleep, Beastmilk, Nails) at Audiosiege Engineering and will be released via Seventh Rule Recordings on both CD and LP on May 13th, 2014 during the two bands’ duel conquest touring Europe and prior to their appearances at this year’s edition of the illustrious Maryland Deathfest. The first pressing of the LP will be limited to 1000 copies and come available on 160-gram black wax with an included download code. Recommended for fans of Eyehategod, Black Sabbath, Electric Wizard, and all things loud and fuzzy.

Weedeater, …And Justice for Y’all (2001)

“Maybe I’ll just head back/To West Virginia, by god…”

I’m not going to say that Weedeater are a band I put on all the time. They’re not. If I’m sitting down to a nice dinner with The Patient Mrs. after a long day, and we’re having cheese and crackers or something like that, she’s got a glass of wine, maybe I’m nursing the end of an iced tea or whatever it is, I’m not likely to be like, “Hey baby, time for some Dixie Dave.” My mother, bless her heart, used to tell me when I said fuck too much in school that there’s a time and place for everything. Ultimately, and after much reprimand, I realized she was correct.

And to that, I will say there are corresponding times when nothing else butWeedeater will do. I know that Buzzov*en and Eyehategod were there before them in the South and Grief and Negative Reaction too in the North — to say nothing of Bongzilla or any such Western predecessor contingent — but they captured something right from the start on 2001’s …And Justice for Y’allthat I don’t think any of those other acts managed to nail in quite the same way. It’s not even about having an angry attitude, which of course plenty of sludge has. It’s about just sound like you absolutely do not give a fuck about anything or anyone. Stoned nihilism put to warped tape.

This was one of those times when nothing else would do but Weedeater, and as it happens, they’re kicking off a tour in a couple days on the West Coast with Black Cobra and they’re slated to reissue their four to-date LPs through new label Season of Mist in advance of a fifth later in the year. One to watch for, I guess. Their last outing, 2011’s Jason… the Dragon (review here), was a hoot.

As always, I hope you enjoy.

—

I was all set to sit here and type out some blues song woe is me shit. Lousy week, front to back. And I don’t know if it’s the Weedeater or what, but seriously, fuck it. I don’t have the energy for that shit anyway and what would it accomplish? Bum someone out who’s maybe enjoying some good tunes? Fuck that. I hope you had a great week, and I hope you hear the Weedeater and fucking groove out and it’s a good time.

Tonight ended strong at least. Got back a bit ago from seeing Gozu debut their new lineup. An interesting venture they’ve undertaken, adding a second lead guitar. The show was good, and hell, it’s probably still going on. I split a little while after they finished to come back here and start this. Leaving a show to go home and write about music. There’s probably not a lot of people who would understand that one. That’s how it went.

Monday I’ll review that, and I’ll hit up Weedpecker and Insider next week as well for album reviews. Also Monday I hope to have up my list of albums to watch for in 2014. My hope is to start writing over the weekend. So far I’m over 30, so yeah, I guess it’s gonna be a pretty large undertaking. I think maybe I’ll leave lists alone for a while after that, though they seem to be pretty popular. Fucking even the New York Times does that shit now. Capturing a moment, I guess. I’ve never been much for the moment.

From the bottom of my heart, I wish you a great and safe weekend. Have fun, kick ass, and we’ll see you back here Monday for more good times.

I guess I missed the news that Fistula had relocated to Massachusetts. That’ll happen. It also goes toward explaining how Fistula, who are originally from Ohio, hooked up with Nightstick, who live a town over from me, for a tour at the end of the summer. Might take me a while, but I’ll put the pieces together eventually. Sometimes.

Fistula are quick to start off 2014 bringing their fuckall door-to-door up and down the Eastern Seaboard. They’ve also got some new material, as the song, “WoodGlue… TheGoodShit” can attest on the player below, and they’ll be playing with some killer bands this run, including Druglord, Heathen Bastard, Order of the Owl, Sons of Tonatiuh and Pallbearer. Pretty good gigs, and in sludgiest fashion, this two-week run was preceded not by months of hype, viral tour teasers and whatever else, but by a single announcement of the dates, which you’ll find reprinted here.

As ever, Fistula just don’t give a fuck:

Beginning Saturday night. Long Island gets it first. Doom? Grind? Punk? We don’t give a flying fuck what you do. Just bring a helmet.

Fistula, “WoodGlue…TheGoodShit”

Oh California, you already have my envy for more than just the climate in the southern part of your state and your rampant availability of hoverboards, must you take Weedeater too? After a quickie warm-up show in Georgia on Jan. 14, North Carolinian sludge experts Weedeater are headed west for a run of shows in CA, running from Sacramento south to San Diego and then back up a bit to finish in Los Angeles. The tour comes on the heels of a digital reissue of the band’s catalog through Season of Mist ahead of physical pressings and reportedly a new album in 2014.

The PR wire sent along the following info, and you’ll notice that Travis Owens, who’d come in on drums to replace Keith Kirkum, isn’t listed in the lineup with “Dixie” Dave Collins and Dave Sheperd. Not sure if that means he’s out of the band, and if so, not sure who’s playing on the tour, but I’d be interested to find out.

Here’s the latest:

WEEDEATER Announce West Coast Tour Dates

Legendary sludge outfit WEEDEATER (“Dixie” Dave Collins – Bass, Vocals; Dave Sheperd – Guitar, Vocals) have announced a January West Coast tour. The trek, which starts on January14th in Atlanta, will see the band playing a string of shows in select territories before ending in LA on the 26th. A full list of confirmed dates can be found below.

The North Carolina-based band is writing new material for their first Season of Mist recording, slated for a release in 2014.

WEEDEATER was formed by front-man/bassist “Dixie” Dave Collins. Following the release of their 2001 debut ‘…And Justice For Y’All’, WEEDEATER immediately established themselves as a force in the U.S. tour circuit and quickly gained notoriety in the American metal scene. In the time since, the band have released three critically-acclaimed albums: ‘Sixteen Tons’ (2002), ‘God Luck And Good Speed’ (2007), and ‘Jason… The Dragon’ (2011), and toured around the world with the likes of DOWN, SAINT VITUS, HIGH ON FIRE, and THE MELVINS, HANK III, EARTH, SUNN O))) and more. The band has played prestigious festivals such as Maryland Deathfest, Hopscotch Festival, Stoned From The Underground, Asymmetry Festival, Roadburn Festival, Hellfest, and many more.

WEEDEATER’s four full-lengths will see a digital re-release on Dec. 10 worldwide, and will be followed by the release of physical formats in 2014.

Regarding the signing, WEEDEATER said, “When we heard we would be working with Season of Mist we almost wrecked our pants. Can’t wait for y’all to check out this sh*t.”

For more WEEDEATER news and tour information, please visit the Season of Mist website, and the WEEDEATER website and Facebook page.

Whatever else you might say about the “tape revival” such as it is — that it’s ’90s nostalgia, that it’s a sham, that tapes sound like shit — cassettes remain a cheap way for bands and labels to get releases out there. You can’t put a download on the merch table. New UK imprint Dry Cough enters the tape trade with a duo of extreme sludge outings in the form of Plague Survivors‘ Discography and On Pain of Death‘s Year Naught Doom.

Each has a personality of its own, so it’s not really fair to lump them together, but there’s definitely a shared spirit of misanthropy running from one to the next, and though they ultimately approach sludge from different angles — Massachusetts-based Plague Survivors taking a punkish route that if it hasn’t yet is soon enough to have them sick of Eyehategod comparisons while On Pain of Death revel in a metallic lurch that nonetheless maintains some inhuman jaggedness over three extended tracks — both bands supply more than ample pummel. If screams are a turnoff or accessibility is sought, neither is going to be a particularly easy listen. Both are also already sold out.

For Plague Survivors, who are label catalog number “DC01” as the first Dry Cough release, the four-piece seem to take joy in their own abrasion. True to its title, the limited-to-50 Discographycompiles the bulk of their work to date, and is made up of singles released digitally and individually over the course of 2012 and early 2013. Four cuts on each side, tracks arrive in the order in which they were recorded, giving a sense of progression overall as a trio of four-plus-minute crushers moves into the more atmospheric, drone-minded, 11-minute “Funeral Pyre,” which moves into Burning Witch-style filth and noise before the screams finally come. Side 2 seems to be pushing toward half-speed Pig Destroyer violence with “Witch Crusher” and “Ditch Digger,” but the closer and most recent cut of all is a wah-ready cover of Sabbath‘s “Electric Funeral,” complete with cleaner vocals in the verse, so where Plague Survivors might be headed with the next installment of their discography, I wouldn’t dare guess.

Initially released as a free download in association with Handshake Inc. last year, Year Naught Doom (“DC02”) is the first On Pain of Death full-length, and is more or less unrelenting in its lumbering assault. The tape, limited to 100 copies, comes with a lyric sheet and is more doom where Plague Survivors stick to sludge, but you wind up with oppressive tones and brutal nod either way. Vocals are growled and screamed (sometimes simultaneously) across “Year Naught Doom,” the Deadwood referential “Tell Your God to Ready for Blood” (video here) and the 17:42 “It Came from the Bog,” which seems to lower and raise its pulse at will, finding a middle course of throat-ripping screams offset by sections of malevolent atmospherics. The interplay of screams and growls goes a long way to making the nastiness at work punch-you-in-the-face apparent, but even if you had three-part harmonies over those vicious tones, you’d still come out with a sound extreme enough to turn brains to an easily-snorted cortex powder. There is very, very little fucking around to be heard.

I guess that’s true of both releases, which is probably at least part of why they’re already gone. Ditto that for the two subsequent Dry Cough tapes from Open Tomb and Esoteric Youth, so it would seems that the upstart label has no trouble getting rid of product. Fortunately, both cassettes are still available digitally, and you can check them out below:

Some records just make you feel dirty, and Italian sludge trio Grime are nothing if not aptly named. The Trieste three-piece are preparing to release their debut LP, Deteriorate, on Forcefield Records and Mordgrimm Records, and it’s an album of unrelenting viciousness, plodding out 40 minutes of searing nastiness that makes stylistic kin of Iron Monkey and Grief without losing sight entirely of the EyeHateGod swagger in its slower movements. Come to think of it, even the fast parts here are pretty slow.

If you want to get some clue as to Grime‘s perspective, take a look at the first two song titles: “Burning Down the Cross,” “Pouring out the Hatred.” The two actions could more or less stand as an analogy for the sonic approach on Deteriorate, the lung-filling mud of which gives no letup across the album’s course. Set to be issued on LP via Forcefield and CD through Mordgrimm, the record makes a show of its disdain, seething contempt running in the suitably hopeless “Giving Up” and the blistering “Pills.” The steadily declining riffs of Marco lead the way for his throat-ripping screams to follow, and drummer Chris and bassist Paulo lock in grooving drudgery befitting the sludgy, hate-fueled atmosphere.

This is demonstrated best, perhaps, on the closer “Idiot God,” which makes its bones on an ultra-simple riff and stomp, Chris adding a few extra snare hits here and there but otherwise no flourish whatsoever, so that even as the song picks up at the end, there’s no discernible shift from the onslaught, and Grime remain as heavy and extreme as ever as the album marches out on more screams and feedback-soaked riffing. True to the graphic nature of the Deteriorate cover art, Grime are an aural evisceration, and though it should go without saying at this point, not at all for the faint of heart.

Heads will roll, mellows will be harshed. Behold Deterioratein full:

Here is the Music Player. You need to installl flash player to show this cool thing!

Grime‘s Deteriorate is coming soon on Mordgrimm Records and Forcefield Records. In addition to the CD release, the 180 gram vinyl will include a limited run of red and purple. More info and pre-orders below: